Ru 251

Ru 251

Ru 251

Germany

IV Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
7.0	7.3	7.3

Class:

PREMIUM

Light tank

Purchase:7 480

Description

The Spähpanzer Ru 251 is a German light tank based on the Kanonenjagdpanzer tank destroyer. It has been proposed that it replace the M41 Walker Bulldog. During the Cold War, the Bundeswehr worked on projects like the Spähpanzer Ru 251. In this context, the Europanzer project was launched, resulting in the development and production of the Leopard 1 for West Germany and the AMX-30 for France. In the early 1960s, the Bundeswehr still used American M41 Walker Bulldog as reconnaissance tanks. In 1960, an effort was launched to develop a new light reconnaissance tank. Prototypes were built in 1963 and 1964. The Spähpanzer Ru 251 light tank is based on the Kanonenjagdpanzer tank destroyer and is armed with the same 90 mm Rheinmetall BK 90/L40 tank gun. In 1964, the Spähpanzer Ru 251 prototype went through rigorous operational trials while the Leopard 1 main battle tank was being built for serial production. Ultimately, it was decided that all resources would be directed toward the Leopard 1 main battle tank, and the Spähpanzer Ru 251 project would be terminated.

Introduced in Update 1.67 "Assault", the Spähpanzer Ru 251 is a light reconnaissance tank with minimal armour that is not intended for close combat. The Spähpanzer Ru 251 armour is effective against large-calibre machine gun bursts but is vulnerable to higher-calibre fire. The Spähpanzer Ru 251 was planned as a light reconnaissance tank, capable of moving rapidly and discreetly and attacking targets of opportunity before repositioning itself using its great mobility: any additional armour would slow the tank down. Best for medium-range engagements, but also suitable for close-range and long-range applications.

General info

Survivability and armour

Smoke grenades

Creation of a smoke screen in front of the vehicle

Armourfront / side / back

Hull30 / 20 / 8

Turret20 / 20 / 20

Crew4 people

Visibility88 %

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour (Hull, Turret hatches)
• Cast homogeneous armour (Turret, Driver's bulge)

Armour	Front	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	30 mm (60°) Frontal glacis 30 mm (38°), 12.7 mm (69°) Lower glacis	20 mm (35°) Top 20 mm Bottom	8 mm (45°) Top 8 mm (41°) Bottom	10 mm
Turret	20 mm (23-38°) Turret front 15 + 30 mm (12-37) Gun mantlet 30 mm (0-78°) Gun mantlet border	20 mm (30-35°)	20 mm (30-32°)	10 mm
Cupola	30 mm	30 mm	30 mm	30 mm

Notes:

• Suspension wheels, torsion bars, and tracks are 15 mm thick
• Lower part of gun mantlet have additional 20 mm underneath
• Belly armour is 9.5 mm thick.

Mobility

Reverse gearbox

Forward and backward movement is possible at the same maximum speed

Speedforward / back

AB90 / 90 km/h

RB and SB81 / 81 km/h

Number of gears6 forward

6 back

Weight25.5 t

Engine power

AB1 259 hp

RB and SB660 hp

Power-to-weight ratio

AB49.4 hp/t

RB and SB25.9 hp/t

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	90	90	25.5	1,023	1,259	40.12	49.37
Realistic	81	81		584	660	22.9	25.88

Modifications and economy

Repair cost

AB2 073

RB2 554

SB3 516

Crew training10 000

Experts340 000

Aces890

Research Aces1 180 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

2 × 110 / 150 / 200 %

2 × 184 / 184 / 184 %

Modifications

Mobility	Protection	Firepower
Tracks Suspension Brake System Filters Transmission Engine	Improved Parts Improved FPE Crew Replenishment	Horizontal Drive Adjustment of Fire Airstrike 90mm_us_M431_HEAT_ammo_pack Elevation Mechanism Smoke grenade Artillery Support Improved optics

Armaments

Main armament

90 mm BK90 cannon

Ammunition61 rounds

First-order11 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

9.8 → 7.5 s

Vertical guidance-9° / 20°

90 mm BK90					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	61	-9°/+20°	±180°	N/A	22.80	31.60	38.40	42.47	45.18	9.75	8.63	7.95	7.50
Realistic					14.28	16.80	20.40	22.56	24.00

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
		10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
DM502	HESH	102	102	102	102	102	102
M431 shell	HEATFS	320	320	320	320	320	320
M71 shell	HE	20	20	18	17	16	16

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
DM502	HESH	853	10.6	0.1	4	3,050	73°	77°	80°
M431 shell	HEATFS	1,216	5.8	0.05	0.1	712.64	65°	72°	77°
M71 shell	HE	823	10.55	0.2	0.1	1,210	79°	80°	81°

Ammo racks

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	6th rack empty	7th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
61	57 (+4)	51 (+10)	41 (+20)	31 (+30)	21 (+40)	11 (+50)	1 (+60)	No

Ammo racks of the Ru 251

Note:

• Turret empty: 51 (+10) shells.

Machine guns

7.62 mm MG3A1 machine gun (coaxial)

Ammunition2 600 rounds

Belt capacity200 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

10.4 → 8.0 s

Fire rate1 200 shots/min

7.62 mm MG3A1 machine gun

Ammunition2 600 rounds

Belt capacity200 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

10.4 → 8.0 s

Fire rate1 200 shots/min

7.62 mm MG3A1
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Coaxial	2,500 (1,000)	1,200	N/A	N/A
Pintle	2,500 (1,000)	1,200	-10°/+25°	±60°

Usage in battles

The Ru 251 is a very quick light tank, but it is not always fast. While it is true that the tank has a very high road speed, it can only make use of it in certain situations, much like the M18 Hellcat. That being said, thanks to almost 26 horsepower per ton, it can manoeuvre much more quickly over smooth and rough terrain than most other tanks. An important thing to remember is that just because the Ru 251 has the capability of covering large distances quickly, doesn't mean it is advisable. This tank, like many german post-war vehicles, has virtually no armour, and a huge ammo rack located in the front of the hull.

This tank is highly effective in ambushes, and sniping from cover and the sides of maps. As mentioned prior, this vehicle is not being played to its fullest extent when the enemy knows where it is, or in slugging matches.

Because the Ru 251 enjoys a gun similar to the M47 Patton and Jagdpanzer 4-5 that utilizes HEATFS, HESH, and HE, which are extremely potent at 6.7. There are virtually no enemies that can withstand the power of the HEATFS, even if it only penetrates 320mm of armour compared to later HEATFS that can penetrate 380 mm of armour or even more.

Thanks to the transmission in the Ru 251, it can travel as fast forward as it can backwards. As many German tanks have poor reversing speed, this is a welcome change. Another wonderful feature of the transmission is the neutral steer. Unlike other tanks that are sluggish in their neutral-steering abilities, the Ru 251 will turn quickly when the input is made (Unlike the M41, which feels sluggish when neutral-turning, and at times feels hesitant).

Tactics

Even though the Ru 251 is a light tank, it utilizes advanced HEATFS that allows it to penetrate even the most challenging of opponents, such as the Maus. Upon contact with ammo racks and fuel tanks, serious damage will be done, if it does not outright destroy the opponent.

Before all, avoid colourful or bright decals. Camouflage is an essential part of defence. The characteristics for good performance in battle are: be "invisible", fast and effective. The Ru 251 speed is its best ally. This speed has to be used for flanking manoeuvres and relocate. Not for trying to cross open field. That`s a poor tactic.

Relocate: The Ru 251 will have to do this movement again and again. Choose a good spot wisely, if trees needed to be cleared for visibility, use the machine gun in short bursts. Remember, tracers can easily reveal anyone's position. When in a shooting spot, use the gun depression and keep the hull down until a target is found. Once a target is acquired, aim at critical components by firing into the fuel tanks or the ammo storage. If the shot misses, but are sure the enemy hasn't discovered where it came from, try another shot. Keep in mind, even if the target is oblivious, other members of the enemy team may have seen the firing location, so be careful. If detected, hide immediately! Relocation after being spotted is always advisable, but if relocation is not possible, wait until the enemy has become preoccupied with other team members.

Flanking: Flanking is the most dangerous manoeuvre of all because at times the Ru 251 has to expose itself to get to the enemy's rear but it's very effective when orchestrated properly. Early on in the battle, often enemy units are preoccupied with trying to get to their positions that they might not notice someone flanking, depending on the map and route taken. If a flank is attempted later on, be sure that all enemy vehicles are focused away from, or cannot see the path that is used to flank. When flanking, attacking lone targets will yield the best results. If firing carelessly into a group of tanks, they will locate the flank position and likely highlight the Ru 251 for the entire team to see. On the other hand, if targeting a lone tank, they typically do not tell their teams where they were shot from, and this gives some degree of protection. If they happen to spawn again, be sure to watch likely avenues of approach from the closest spawn and listen for aircraft, as they likely are trying to get vengeance.

Due to your quick speed, you may find yourself outnumbered by enemies. If this is the case, try to remain concealed and use the spotting feature to mark the tanks for your allies. Not only does this help you better keep track of the tanks, but it also helps your team know where the enemies are to give you a better chance of coming out a nasty situation alive.

Avoid flat terrain: Flat terrain means that the Ru 251 will become an easy target for virtually any vehicle by exposure, especially when not moving or when moving in a straight line. Open plains are the bane of the Ru 251. Whenever possible, one should try to stay amongst hills or within buildings.

Engaging: Unlike most German tanks, the Ru 251 does not possess APHE to reliably knock out its opponents in one hit. Thus, prioritize ammo locations of tanks before and learn their internal crew layout. Its HEATFS round will likely penetrate all vehicles at its battle rating reliably, thus, learning internal crew layout is more important than analysing the armour. If you are unsure where to shoot the enemy, going for the breech is the safest bet. Not only will this prevent the enemy from firing back, it will also force them to relocate and repair.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• High mobility, with great top speed, reverse speed, and manoeuvrability
• Utilizes a powerful 90 mm gun with a varied selection of rounds
• Reload time is competitive with full crew + expert training

Cons:

• Huge ammo rack sitting at the front of the hull
• Little armour, especially the roof armour,
• Very vulnerable to .50 cal machine gun fire (especially the sides)
• Extremely vulnerable to overpressure (artillery strikes, large-calibre HE rounds, etc.)
• The HEATFS shell inflicts poor post-penetration damage

History

The Spähpanzer Ru 251 light tank was conceived solely as a reconnaissance vehicle. In the early 1960s, the Bundeswehr were still using the outdated American M41 Walker Bulldogs in their armoured scout battalions, however the time had come to replace them with something more modern. A program to develop a new light tank was launched in 1960. It was essential that the tank had excellent mobility and enough firepower to destroy the main Soviet tanks of the day. The first prototype was built in 1963, followed by at least one more by 1964. In 1964, the Ru 251 prototypes underwent intensive field tests, although by that time the Leopard main battle tank was already being readied for serial production and the Germans decided against ordering another tank so similar to the Leopard.

- From Devblog

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Ru 251 from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

The Shooting Range #55 - Metal Beasts section at 00:35 discusses the Ru 251.

See also

• JPz 4-5

External links

• [Devblog] Spähpanzer Ru 251: The Fastest on land